Features of Church Legislation on the Preservation of Antiquities of Russia in the Late 19th — Early 20th Centuries

The article is devoted to the activities of the Russian Church in the field of protection of monuments in Russia in the late 19th — early 20th centuries. The features of church legislation noted by researchers of this topic are considered: following in the mainstream of state policy, the departmental status of church regulatory legal acts, protection of the ownership by the Orthodox Church of monuments of church antiquity and the utilitarian view of the clergy towards antiquities as religious objects or relics of religion. Attention is paid to the factors that influenced the legislative process, such as the crisis of state-church relations, globalization and social modernization. A comprehensive analysis of acts of church legislation and administration, as well as the position of the Holy Synod in the development of state laws on the protection of monuments, is carried out. Information is given about the Russian Church as a social institution that preserved and developed the religious tradition of preserving antiquities. The legislation was designed to reflect the interests of the Orthodox, the majority of the population, applied to most of the monuments of church antiquity, and defended the cultural and religious context of the monument as an instrument of spiritual and moral development.